Swept by the New York Yankees, June 9

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By now, the New York Mets are used to playing second fiddle to the New York Yankees. In what seems like an annual occurrence, the Mets lost the season series to the Yankees.

The Mets were swept by their cross-town rivals in the series that began on June 9 when Johan Santana allowed six earned runs (four homers) in five innings. Prior to that meeting, the Mets were 10-6 in their last 16 games, and looked to be building up momentum with a month left to go before the All-Star break.

Frank Francisco’s Injury, June 23

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Frank Francisco wasn't a dominant closer prior to being placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 23 after a save against the New York Yankees, but he was a better option than any other pitcher that Terry Collins could run out there late in the game.

If you throw away the three straight poor appearances in mid-May, Francisco had blown just two saves all season. Sure, he was shaky, but he proved to be a much better closer than Bobby Parnell.

Once Francisco went down, the bullpen's weaknesses became even more glaring, as Collins was forced to use Parnell in more crucial junctures in the game.

The Mets' relief pitchers racked up a whopping three saves in July. The bullpen can't shoulder all the blame, as it was afforded only seven save opportunities that month, but Francisco's time on the disabled list added to a laundry list of problems in Flushing.

Lost 4-of-6 to the Cubs, June 25-27, July 6-8

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The Chicago Cubs came to Citi Field with the worst record in the major leagues, but the New York Mets found a way to lose two-of-three to the most hapless team in baseball.

It was bad enough to lose one series to the Cubs, but a second series loss was completely unacceptable. The debacle began as June turned into July, as the Mets were punchless at the plate and dreadful in the field.

As the Mets finished the first half of the season on a low note, much of the baseball community began to realize that the Mets were in trouble after the All-Star break.

R.A. Dickey’s Four Straight Mediocre Starts, July 5-24

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R.A. Dickey has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season, but from July 5 to July 24, the competition began to catch up to him.

The knuckleballer's ERA fell to a season-low of 2.15 after he pitched eight innings of shutout ball against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 29, but the next month would not be kind to the Tennessee native.

Over his next five starts, Dickey's season ERA ballooned to 2.97 after allowing 17 earned runs in 25.1 innings.

After the New York Mets had a pitcher who was able to act as a stopper every fifth day, Dickey's mediocre starts were crippling.

Dickey would eventually recover and still remains in the Cy Young discussion, but his return to form was too late.

Johan Santana’s 17th Start, July 6

Johan Santana ensured that he would forever be remembered as one of the great New York Mets pitchers of all time by throwing a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 1.

Santana wasn't terrible following the no-hitter, as he finished June with a sub-three ERA for the season. Unfortunately, his dominance ended when spring turned to summer.

The two-time Cy Young winner made his 17th start of the season on July 6 against the Chicago Cubs, allowing seven earned runs on 13 hits in just 4.2 innings of work. Chicago was 18 games under .500 entering that game, which made Santana's struggles look even worse.

Santana allowed at least six earned runs in each of his next four starts, and was unable to log more than five innings in any of them.

His second-half ERA was a comical 16.33, which led to the organization to shut him down for the season.

David Wright Falls off Post-All-Star Break, July 13

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David Wright thrust himself into the National League MVP conversation over the first three months of the season. The face of the New York Mets franchise rounded out the unofficial first half with a hearty .351 average, 11 homers, 59 RBI, 56 runs, 50 walks and just 47 strikeouts.

He carried the team before the All-Star break, but once again we learned that all good things must come to an end.

Wright played on an otherworldly level leading up the the All-Star break, but has seen his average fall nearly 40 points to .314. His .255 average in July and .272 average in August have been a huge factor in the Mets' demise.

There is no way to blame the third baseman for the entire team's play, but everybody knew that he would have to be one of the best players in the league if the team was going to hang around.

Jason Bay’s Return, July 17

There seems to be a direct correlation between Jason Bay's presence in the lineup and the New York Mets losing games.

Bay came of the disabled list on July 17 against the Washington Nationals after missing nearly a month. The Mets lost 10 of the next 12 games.

Again, it isn't reasonable to blame one player for the team's collapse, but Bay is an automatic out in the middle of the lineup. Over the last three seasons, he has proved that he is no longer a viable option for a major league team, yet his massive contract has allowed him to stick around.

He hit .119 in July and .122 in August while being awarded a decent amount of at-bats. The collapse was already well underway, but Bay's return was a bad omen for the next two months of unwatchable baseball.

No Move at Trade Deadline, July 31

Sandy Alderson can't be vilified for his decision not to make a move at the trade deadline, as there was no reason to bring in reinforcements for a team that was going nowhere.

After posting a 7-18 record in July, the New York Mets found themselves at 50-54 on the last day of the month, 12 games back of the Washington Nationals in the division and 9.5 out of the second wild-card spot.

Alderson not making a move was a white flag for the season. His team had exceeded expectations for a long time, but had since come back to Earth when it mattered most.

When the calendar turned to August, this Mets season was over. The pitchers regressed toward the norm, the hitters showed their true colors and the general sentiment was largely negative.

Things have gotten much worse since the end of July, but the passing of the trade deadline allowed the fans to let go of the pipe dream and return to reality.